Chuck Colby

Walk Around Lake Boronda

Just wanted to share some pictures of our daily walk around Lake
Boronda which is a couple miles up the hill from our house in
Palo Alto Hills.

Lake Boranda

Boat Dock

Pair o' docks

It is really a beautiful lake! It is about a half mile long and
is located in Palo Alto Foothills Park at about 1,000 ft elevation
just off Page Mill Road. For more info on the park, click
here.

Lake Boranda in the fog

Lake Boranda in the fog

Bridge in the fog

Karen and I walk around the lake or one of the 10 trails in
the park every day, rain, fog or shine, and the exercise is great!
In the early mornings, there are often 20-30 ducks and coots sitting
on the lake.

Ducks

There are 15 species of ducks that are migrating through here
from
their northern breeding grounds in Alaska, Canada and the Northwestern
US. We usually see about 4-5 species at one time on the lake.
Today we saw some Canadian geese. Research indicates that migratory
birds most often use celestial bodies as means of navigation,
using the stars at night and the sun during the day. The celestial
bodies enable the ducks to reach a general geographical location,
such as the San Francisco Bay Area. To get to a specific point
in the Bay Area like Boronda Lake, they probably use landmarks.

American Coot, Fulica americana

The Coots are the most fun. They do not fly, but flap their wings
and "walk on water" and make very loud sounds like someone
laughing or sort of like a hyena.